Capcom discusses Dino Crisis and Onimusha, but no revivals without “incredible” idea

Here’s hoping they’ve long since fired the guy who suggested it’d be “incredible” to put dinosaurs in space.

Speaking with IGN, Capcom VP of strategic planning and business development Christian Svensson explained that while its old guard of time-traveling samurai and occasionally space-faring dinosaurs may be down, they’re certainly not out.

“For the time being I think it’s in percolate mode, that is to say, it’s not forgotten internally, there are discussions that go on, but I don’t think anyone has sort has come up with the ‘that’s it’ idea of how to get the game back up to 3 or 4 million units,” he said of Onimusha.

“While Onimusha 1 and Onimusha 2 are among our more successful titles, Onimusha 3 and Onimusha Dawn of Dreams, not so much,” he explained.

He also noted that Onimusha’s deep roots in Japanese culture make it a tough sell for audiences outside the land of the rising sun. Our solution? Tom Cruise. Onimusha’s no stranger to guest stars, and we want to stab Tom Cruise in the stomach. Wait, what about a last samurai? Nope. Never heard of it. Anyway, about cutting Tom Cruise to ribbons…

Svensson was similarly blunt about Dino Crisis, explaining that the series’ focus on tank controls and pre-rendered backgrounds has turned it into – fittingly enough – a dinosaur compared to more modern fare.

“There are discussions, Dino Crisis comes up from time to time, but there isn’t any burning desire from R&D or the business side to light that franchise back up again,” he added. “Until there’s an internal champion with something incredible, things just sort of sit there.”

One word: crossover. Three more words: samurai dinosaur jousting. You can send us the check whenever you’d like, Capcom.